Combat Food Waste, Save Money On Restaurant Takeout With One Click

Combat Food Waste, Save Money On Restaurant Takeout With One Click

New app Food For All launches with Kickstarter campaign.

Imagine being able to order food from your favorite neighborhood restaurants — at up to 80 percent off — and help the environment while you’re at it. This too-good-to-be-true scenario is very much in the works, thanks to a new app developed by a team at Harvard University (and currently in beta mode in Boston) called Food for All.

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Restaurants often have extra, unsold food at the end of the day, the majority of which ends up in landfills. According to Co.Exist, this process is both expensive and time-consuming for the restaurants. They can donate this food to nonprofits or food banks, but these options have their own drawbacks, such as logistical expenses and added costs. So why not feed more hungry, paying customers with food that is still suitable for consumption?

The concept is simple: Users scroll through a list of nearby restaurants that have food leftover from the day and place orders on heavily discounted items for pickup. One small catch? The restaurants don’t provide a lot of details: They might list “pizza,” “sandwich” and “salad” as options to take out but won’t reveal the exact dishes that are available. This is a way for the restaurant to separate its regular customers from those solely looking for an end-of-day deal.

Food for All is well on its way to providing cheaper meals and eliminating food waste, but the creators of the app need your help. They’re seeking $50,000 in funding over the next month and a half via an active Kickstarter campaign, and they’re promising to tackle the NYC market next. Check out the video below to see just how you can help out in just a couple of clicks!